History Kendrion Mishawaka

Kendrion Mishawaka History

Tri-Tech, LLC was formed in 1996 to purchase the Trinetics OEM Division, which had served customers since 1967.

In January 1999, Tri-Tech, LLC completed its move into a new 17,000 square foot facility in the Mishawaka Twin Branch Industrial Park, at 56733 Magnetic Drive. Tri-Tech, LLC had previously leased a building on Currant Road in Mishawaka. Our new business offices and manufacturing plant were built to suit and organized to facilitate efficient operation and advance our lean manufacturing process and Kaizen philosophies.

In August 2008, Tri-Tech, LLC became part of Kendrion. Kendrion is one of the worldwide leading manufacturers of electromagnetic components. Kendrion consists of four business units Commercial Vehicle Systems, Industrial Drive Systems, Industrial Magnetic Systems and Passenger Car Systems.

Tri-Tech, LLC became Kendrion Tri-Tech, LLC and joined the Industrial Magnetics Systems (IMS) business unit becoming Kendrion’s first American based IMS manufacturing location. Kendrion Tri-Tech, LLC, since July 2012 Kendrion Mishawaka, continues to focus on custom electromagnetic design and has expanded to serve Partners throughout the world.

At Kendrion Mishawaka, LLC, a long-established base of repeat customers is testimony to our technical expertise and electromechanical products.

Kendrion History

Kendrion started out in 1859 under the name Schuttersveld, a familiar name in the field of textile production for over a century, based in Enschede, the Netherlands. In 1984, new activities blew new life into the company and started Kendrion off in a promising new direction.

1911 – 1920

Our electromagnetic activities started in 1911 when the company’s founder, Wilhelm Binder, barely twenty years old, had a vision: to start his own company. Together with business partner Rudolf Moog, with an 8,500 Deutschmark investment in equipment, they begin supplying precision parts of exceptional quality. The business grows fast and only two years later Wilhelm Binder buys out his partner and rents bigger premises. During the First World War, while Wilhelm is serving in the military, his wife Ursula takes over the management of the company.

1920 – 1938

After the war, Wilhelm Binder hears of a great American invention based on the principles of electromagnetism. By studying and following evening classes, Wilhelm Binder acquires his knowledge of electromagnetics, which he first applies for the positioning of precision parts on the machines, but this quickly develops into the company’s core activity. Inspired by the success of his first invention, Binder introduces a steady stream of new patents on the market. In 25 years’ time, Binder has grown into a company with 400 employees.

1938 – 1997

In 1938 Wilhelm Binder junior joins his father’s company and develops a revolutionary patented magnet for airplane hydraulics. After expropriation, however, he is forced to share this invention with a number of other companies without compensation. After the Second World War, the factory had to be rebuilt from nothing - literally. New premises in 1951 allowed Binder to make his dream come true in 1953, when he presented his company to great acclaim at the Hannover Messe. But this success takes a heavy toll: on the last day of the exhibition, Wilhelm Binder suffers a fatal heart attack. His son, Dr. Wilhelm Binder, takes over.

1997 –

Under Dr. Wilhelm Binder, the company grows robustly and over the years acquires more than 40 patents. Binder researches and develops a huge variety of spin-off products, including a camera and even an electrobicycle. However, the family business also goes through difficult times, and is forced to cut its workforce and adjust its ambitions. But unlike many of its competitors, Binder’s efforts succeed in getting the company sold, in 1997, to Schuttersveld.

In mid-2001, the company decided to change the name from Schuttersveld to Kendrion, to reflect a clear focus on niche market leadership in business-to-business markets with a focus on healthy, autonomous growth and profit.

Now, more than hundred years after Binder’s first launch, the company is ready to meet the challenges and demands of the future. Kendrion Binder has already taken a strong position in the market and is spreading its activities around the world.